Announcements

CMS wants to hear from you! We are currently recruiting volunteers for the next phase of the Secure Website modernization: 2021 User Acceptance Testing. If you are a current RDS participant with an active Secure Website account, you actively use the Reconciliation process within the Secure Website, and are interested in participating, please review the material below and email CMS’ RDS Center by Monday, August 9, 2021 to express your interest in volunteering for the initiative. 

CMS' RDS Center will be performing system maintenance on the RDS Secure Website on Thursday, July 8, 2021 from 8:00PM ET through 9:00PM ET.

CMS' RDS Center will be performing system maintenance on the RDS Secure Website on Saturday, June 19, 2021 from 9:00AM ET through 9:00PM ET.

You are invited to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Webinar Listening Session: Secure Website Modernization – Annual Plan Application & Payment Setup Demonstration. The RDS Webinar Listening Session: Secure Website Modernization – Annual Plan Application & Payment Setup Demonstration is intended for all RDS participants with active Secure Website accounts. During the Webinar Listening Session, CMS’ RDS Center will demonstrate prototype versions of new Secure Website components, including redesigned pages and streamlined processes. Participants are encouraged to provide feedback throughout the presentation via polling questions. 

H.R.1868 – “To prevent across-the-board direct spending cuts, and for other purposes,” enacted on April 14, 2021, again extends the ending date of the sequestration suspension period from March 31, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

On Friday, January 15, 2021 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Cost Threshold and Cost Limit amounts that apply to Plan Sponsors participating in CMS' Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Program, with qualified prescription drug plans that end in 2022.

CMS' RDS Center is pleased to announce the publication of the new RDS Quick Start Guides, a library of one-page process diagrams illustrating how to complete various tasks within the RDS Secure Website.

The RDS Quick Start Guides page is a library of one-page process diagrams illustrating how to complete various tasks within the RDS Secure Website. The first two Quick Start Guide entries address activating and resetting Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for your RDS Secure Website user account.

Activating and maintaining Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for your RDS Secure Website user account is critical to ensuring your Plan Sponsor meets its Application and Reconciliation Deadlines and experiences all the benefits of participating in the RDS Program. If you have a new device that you need to sync to the RDS Secure Website, or your current MFA is no longer working, you’ll need to reset MFA. For detailed guidance on how to reset MFA, refer to the instructions associated with the type of device you are using.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Program is subject to the mandatory reductions in federal spending, or sequestration, in accordance with the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA), as amended.